This invention relates to floating islands. In particular, the invention relates to combination-cell foam floating islands.
The background art is characterized by U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,224,292; 5,528,856; 5,766,474; 5,980,738; 6,086,755; and 6,555,219 and U.S. Patent Application Nos. 2003/0051398; 2003/0208954; 2005/0183331; the disclosures of which patents and patent applications are incorporated by reference as if fully set forth herein.
Background art floating planters have four major deficiencies that are overcome in preferred embodiments of the present invention. Some background art planters are predominantly covered by materials that prevent or restrict plant growth. For example, the invention described by Tepper (U.S. Pat. No. 6,086,755) comprises a top floatation layer that is manufactured from a conventional buoyant foam such as a foamed plastic. This material is not suitable for plant growth; therefore, this invention requires cutouts to be installed through the foam layer, and plants can only grow through the cutouts. With the Tepper invention, only a portion of the top surface area of the planter is available for plant growth, which reduces the total plant growing capacity of the structure.
Other background art planters use hollow buoyant pipes that are installed around the perimeter of the structure to provide buoyancy. For example, Waterlines Solutions of the U.K. utilizes sealed polypropylene tubes around the perimeter of its floating planters to provide buoyancy. This method of providing buoyancy tends to be fragile (e.g., subject to failure by impact from boats and pressure from freezing ice) and expensive.